Two Things

If your drawings are abstract and you don’t intend them to be,

just learn these two things:

How to see what you draw,

and

how to draw what you see.

I’ve scanned a few parts of Earth Seed. Some parts are much more developed than others because I’m not working over the entire drawing consistently, but it’ll be finished in a little while and then I’ll release it back into the wild. (I have a capture and release program for creative ideas.)

Earth Seed Drawing Concept Map

Sketch of My Cat Hazel

I’m sketching from life a lot lately. I stop what I’m doing at about 3:00 each day, grab the messenger bag that I’ve stuffed with drawing supplies, and head for our meadow. After six laps around the meadow, I’m trying to loose weight, I settle down and draw.

Sketch of My Cat Freddy

Flowers, sprouting leaves, and things that catch my eye become my models. I’ve been doing this for two weeks, nearly everyday, and my sketching ability has improved tremendously. And I’ve lost two pounds! Drawing from life is an ability that needs constant practice to stay sharp and I was rusty.

Sketch of My Cat Rusty

I’m addicted to life sketching now and can only go a day without before the desire to capture a likeness overwhelms me. Yesterday, after a day and a half of rain kept me indoors, I stalked the cats. I snuck up on them while they were napping and satisfied my sketching hunger. ]]> http://www.toadhollowstudio.com/wp_blog/2008/05/sketching-from-life/feed/ 0 http://www.toadhollowstudio.com/wp_blog/2008/04/i-don%e2%80%99t-paint-i-draw/ http://www.toadhollowstudio.com/wp_blog/2008/04/i-don%e2%80%99t-paint-i-draw/#comments Sat, 26 Apr 2008 17:14:51 +0000 Carol http://toadhollowstudio.com/wp_blog/?p=292 Continue reading →]]> Color is a distraction. It pulls the attention away from the subject and re-focuses it on the surface of the art. Yes, I know that color has lots and lots of emotional impact, but I’d rather bring the viewer deeper into the art.

I want your eyes to follow the shape of the subject deep under the surface of the drawing. I want you to understand the light and shadows you find there in an intuitive way, and I create an undemanding and quiet atmosphere so you can explore the drawing without distraction.

Drawings are more about the wholeness of a captured moment, and less about creating a new one. They are about time and space and touching the presence of a moment with the eyes, mind, and heart.

I sculpt light and shadow onto the surface of paper with my tools. I create form, texture, and line, and let them kick up their heels to the harmony of the spheres. That rhythm is my drumbeat.

I draw, as you well know, and I write, as you may have deduced. I write drawing lessons, forum posts, blog posts, and pages for my main website. It’s kind of embarrassing doing all this writing, because I don’t think it’s what I do best. I draw best. I really do. But, the words I write make teaching possible, another thing I love, and they make my drawing club work, also greatly loved. And all these words make a little money, too, which makes it possible for me to work from home and have more time for drawing.

This complicated swirl of projects originated in my heart, and they stay close to it. I’m standing in the middle right now, and examining all the connections, tightening knots, and taking a good look at each an every child of my heart. It’s good to see they’ve finally learned how to work together, or maybe I’ve learned how to be a better caretaker. Either way, it’s a relief.

I’d like to send a humble thanks out to Mark Bernstein, the author of the article called “Writing for the Living Web.” I read through it often and it gives me the courage to write with my own voice, and that’s what makes all of this possible.